Master Techniques in Orthopaedic Surgery Pediatrics, 1st Edition

Preface

This volume of Master Techniques in Orthopaedic Surgery is the first of this excellent series devoted to orthopaedic surgery of children and adolescents. The authors are expert and experienced pediatric orthopaedists who have incorporated lessons learned from their years of clinical experience into each of the 41 chapters. Each chapter either addresses a number of choices of surgical treatment for a distinct clinical condition or concentrates on the technique and nuances of a single surgical procedure that may be used to treat a variety of clinical disorders. An effort has been made to include the most up-to-date surgical techniques that practicing orthopaedic surgeons may not have learned during their training.

Despite the large number of authors and the variety of writing styles, the chapters have been organized in similar fashion throughout, making it easier for readers to quickly find the section or sections they are looking for. Each chapter addresses indications and contraindications, preoperative planning, detailed specifics of the surgical procedure, postoperative management, complications, and "pearls and pitfalls," and includes a short list of references for further reading. All chapters are well illustrated with operative photographs, line drawings, and radiographs.

Several chapters reflect the current approach of treating more pediatric fractures operatively than has been done in years past. As such, they describe up-to-date operative procedures used for these common pediatric fractures. Hip disorders, including congenital hip dislocation, slipped capital femoral epiphysis, and hip dysplasia associated with neuromuscular conditions, are addressed in a number of chapters that provide detailed and easily understood explanations of the osteotomies used to treat these conditions. The treatment of clubfoot has changed quite dramatically in the past decade, and the related chapters highlight the indications and techniques for the recently popular Ponseti treatment and for the extensive surgical release approach. A major section includes chapters on the spine, from the cervical spine to the sacrum, with several chapters focusing on the variety of current surgical approaches being used to treat spinal deformity. Other chapters to attract the reader include those for pediatric sports medicine (discoid meniscus treatment and ACL reconstruction with open physes), pediatric foot deformities requiring osteotomies, leg-length discrepancy, and angular deformity of the lower extremities.

The chapters in this volume will be of value for orthopaedic surgeons specializing in pediatric orthopaedics as well as for orthopaedists who continue to treat children and adolescents as part of a more general orthopaedic practice. In this era of specialization, pediatric orthopaedics is a specialty described by some as general orthopaedics for children and adolescents as defined by age and not by an area of the body, as is the case for much of the specialization in the orthopaedic care of adults. As a result, a very large number of surgical procedures may be considered in the treatment of children and adolescents who have orthopaedic problems, even though each operation may not be done very often. Because of this, it seemed to the editors that the orthopaedic practice community would benefit a great deal from a book such as this that takes a somewhat different approach than is used in other current pediatric orthopaedic textbooks. With the 41 chapters included here, it is hoped that this volume will allow all orthopaedists not only to better understand how to do a specific surgical procedure for their young patients, but also to better understand when and what to do for optimal patient care and outcomes.

Vernon T. Tolo, MD

David L. Skaggs, MD